Monte Vista Christian hosts Palma on its senior night

There is no doubt that this is the biggest game of the Monte Vista Christian Mustangs season.

Not only is it senior night, but powerhouse Palma will be coming to Watsonville.

Friday’s game will mark the first time the two teams have met, and Palma’s coming into the game hot.

They’re on a five game winning streak, with their most recent win coming over Salinas.

Brandon Olivares led the Chieftains to victory by rushing for 224 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries, and he’ll be the guy that the Mustangs will look to stop Friday.

The good thing for the Mustangs is they’ve gotten an extra week to rest and prepare for the juggernaut.

Monte Vista Christian is coming off a much needed bye week, after losing to the Hollister Haybalers 48-10 two weeks ago.

A lot of the pressure is going to fall on the Mustang defense.

Palma has scored at least 26 points in their four wins over Monterey Bay League Gabilan opponents.

In other local football action:

• Watsonville at Alvarez (7:30 p.m.): The Wildcatz had a tough challenge last week and it will only get tougher this week.

The Alvarez Eagles are 5-0 in the Monterey Bay League Pacific, and they handed a 64-26 beat down to the Gilroy Mustangs last week.

Simply said, they’re on a roll.

Watsonville on the other hand is coming off their worst offense output of the season.

They were held to -42 yards in the first half and they were held scoreless.

Their defense did not do much better.

They gave up 57 points to the Cougars, with 36 of them coming in the first half.

Watsonville will have to hope that they can string together some drives against the Eagles.

• North Monterey County at Pajaro Valley (7:30 p.m. At Watsonville High School): Pajaro Valley’s first and only league win in the program’s history came against the North Monterey County Condors in 2007.

They’ll have a chance to repeat that performance Friday.

In a battle of last place teams in the Pacific, the Grizzlies and Condors will meet at Watsonville High School.

Both teams were blown out the last time they were on the field.

Pajaro Valley lost to Christopher 41-6, and North Monterey County went down 50-7.

The Grizzlies got a nice game out of J.J. Casares two weeks.

He ran for 120 yards and a score against the Cougars.

They are coming off a bye week, which must have been nice for them since being bit by the injury bug.

North Monterey County will try and play spoiler, as this is the final home game for the Grizzlies.

• Santa Cruz at St. Francis C.C.C. (7:30 p.m. at Cabrillo College): It’s been an up and down season for the St. Francis Central Coast Catholic Sharks, but they’ll look to end their season with a win over the Santa Cruz Cardinals.

The Cardinals will not make them it easy for them, however.

They’ve won their last two contests by a combined score of 87-26, and are coming off a bye week.

The Sharks lost last week against the Harbor Pirates 34-20.

Last season Santa Cruz bested the Sharks 50-33. The Cardinals have won the last four contests.

As usual, the offense will run through Nick Ciandro, Garrett Saucedo and the passing game.

Saucedo has caught 14 touchdowns and has also run for two scores this season.

• Aptos at Henry M. Gunn (7:30 p.m.): Aptos will face an unknown opponent when they drive up to Palo Alto Friday.

Since starting Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League play, the Mariners have been on a roll.

In the last two weeks the Mariners have scored 96 points and only allowed six.

They have already secured at least a share of the SCCAL title with last week’s win over Soquel.

The Mariners scheduled the Gunn Titans to fill a dropped league game.

On paper it looks like the Mariners will roll past the Titans for their seventh win of the season.

The Titans are struggling and are winless in league play. In total, they have only won one contest this season